Local Blogs

By Roz Rogoff

San Ramon is back in DSRSD

Uploaded: Dec 21, 2012

Ed Duarte put San Ramon back into the Dublin San Ramon Services District. Ed, who won election to the District, was sworn in as a Director on December 18th along with the two re-elected Directors, Pat Howard and Rich Halket. Vice-President Dawn Benson moved up to President and Director Georgean Vonheeder-Leopold was selected to be Vice President for 2013.

The District held a nice family party for the swearing in. I brought my camera and took a lot of photos but I can post only one with this blog. The photo from left to right shows Director Pat Howard, Director Rich Halket, President Dawn Benson, Vice-President Georgean Vonheeder-Leopold, and Director Ed Duarte. Ed is the first resident of San Ramon to serve as a Director since 2002.

The meeting featured a presentation by HomeServe USA on insurance for sewer and water laterals. These are the pipelines that go from the street (sewer) or water meter into the home and are the responsibility of the homeowner. Replacement or repair can cost thousands of dollars.

Ed Duarte, in his first meeting as a Director, questioned the representative from the insurance company about the reliability of the contractors selected for the repairs. The insurance rep said their contractors are carefully selected and continued use depends on customer satisfaction. Insurance for the sewer lateral is $8 a month and water lateral is $5 a month.

The water line goes from the water meter, usually at the front property line, into the house. Sewer lines are more expensive to repair and more icky. The sewer lateral goes from the house to the sewer pipe in the street.

This insurance can be purchased directly by the homeowner, but most homeowners, including me, don't think about it until something goes wrong. So the District is considering making it available as a service to its water and sewer users.

I asked the presenter if homeowners insurance covers this. He said no. Most homeowners are not aware this isn't covered by regular homeowners insurance and it isn't covered by the utilities. These connection lines are the responsibility of the homeowner.

I am considering getting this insurance for myself. My house is 40 years old and that's just about when these things start to self-destruct. The Directors received the presentation favorably and staff will look into offering this option as a benefit to residents.

I left the meeting after the insurance presentation and before the Directors voted on committee assignments. Here's the list from the press release:

External Affairs: Director Duarte and Director Howard. They also will serve as liaisons to the cities of Dublin, San Ramon, and Livermore and to the school districts in the communities served by the District.

Finance: President Benson and Director Halket.

Personnel: President Benson and Director Howard.

Wastewater: Director Duarte and Vice President Vonheeder-Leopold. They also will serve as liaisons to the City of Pleasanton (DSRSD treats Pleasanton's wastewater via contract) and as delegates to the board of the Livermore-Amador Valley Water Management Agency (LAVWMA), a joint powers authority comprised of DSRSD, Livermore and Pleasanton. LAVWMA pipelines convey treated wastewater to a deep water outfall in the San Francisco Bay.

Water: Director Halket and Vice President Vonheeder-Leopold. They also will serve as liaisons to Zone 7 Water Agency, the District's wholesale water supplier; on the Committee of Valley Water Retailers, and as delegates to the board of the DSRSD-EBMUD Recycled Water Authority (DERWA), which produces and distributes recycled water for irrigation through the San Ramon Valley Recycled Water Program.